In response Bren gave a shrug. “I got mine from another prisoner.”

    “Can you tell us anything about him?”

    “Sorry but I met him through another person.”

    A groan escaped Nivon as he looked around. “I had thought for certain the mage would be with us. It seems that if they are though they're still keeping their identity a secret.”

***********************************************************************************

    “I really don't like using such methods.” A sigh escaped Mina as she pushed the escapees head back under the water and looked towards the others that were currently restrained. Instead of speaking again she waited until the one she was holding had to breath and she'd let him up to continue. “I don't even have a good ideal of who amongst you might be the mage.” Once again Mina pushed the humans head under the water and waited until she brought him back up to continue. “We need to know though.”

    Flora gave a sigh as she listened to Mina working. They didn't know who the mage was but they needed to find out. So they were just going to have to go through each of the escapees one at a time until they'd spoken with each one of them. Of course this wasn't something that they could confess to. “You all realize that you're eventually all going to get a turn unless the mage speaks up. However, don't even think you can claim to be the caster and save yourself some pain or save some of your fellows.”

    Sumon had managed to be quiet throughout most of their capture but as he watched Mina work and listened to Flora he had to speak up. “What's going to happen to us once you've worked all of us over?”

    In response Flora gave a shrug. “If we still don't know who the mage is we're going to do something even worse. Then after that if we still don't know we're going to work you over even harder.”

    “How would we prove that we're the mage though if a confession isn't enough?!”

    A slight giggle escaped Flora as she looked at the restrained claimed. “Simple you can toss a fire ball at one of us or a lightning bolt or anything else to prove that you have some mystic skill.”

    Before any of the prisoners could say anything Mina spoke up. “Of course, if you know who the mage is you could tell one of us.” A slight giggle escaped Mina as she lifted the man's head out of the water again. “If we find out you lied to us though you'll have to endure an even more unpleasant fate.”

    Despite the situation Sumon had to try something. “So you're just going to keep torturing us until you get an answer or we die!? That's.”

    Before the escapee could finished Flora spoke up. “You all caused us a lot of trouble and helped in the escape. You chose to take the risk knowing we'd be quite upset with you. However, we've decided that we aren't going to kill any of you. Isn't that nice?”

    “What? Then what are you going to do? When will this ever stop?”

    In response Flora gave a shrug. “Until we get an answer or we believe that we've broken you to the point that you couldn't hide a thing from us. I still can't believe Dan and the others were able to calm everyone down so quickly.”

    In response Mina gave a nod. “Who wants to take over their jobs while we replenish the number of claimed? It's amazing what one simple question can do.”

    “It was pretty wise of Dan to bring it up. I sure wasn't thinking about it at the time.”

    “Yeah but Carter did a great job of illustrating what that would mean for us. Even with masks like the one Joseph made for me not many of us can tolerate such work. Just after a quick trip through the tannery while wearing the mask I had to take around five baths before I felt clean enough to take it off.”

    It was nearly impossible for Sumon to listen to this. He had actually been surprised and somewhat grateful whenever the men had saved their lives. Now he didn't know what he should be feeling. Apparently they had only been saved as tools and as tools that had cut their masters they were going to be beaten into shape. “Isn't there anything we can do to stop this?!”

    A slight giggle escaped Mina as she looked at Sumon. “Well once I'm done with this one I'm going to put you through what he's currently having to endure as you seem so hell bent on getting my attention. Unless you have the information we want though then nope. There is nothing you can do to help yourself or anyone else at this point.”

    Sumon felt his mouth going dry as he listened to Mina. The way her voice didn't lose any of its cheerfulness just made the situation even more horrific. “This is monstrous! Even animals don't do this to one another! How can you treat this all so casually!”

    To this Mina once again spoke up. “OH that's easy! I don't give a damn about anyone of you right now. You're as dead to me as a rock and I sure don't feel any pity for rocks. I'll tell you what though, exhale sharply while I'm holding you under and inhale as much water as you can and I'll let you drown yourself.”

***********************************************************************************

    “Mirin you need to relax. Being so stressed won't help anything.”

    In response to the voice Mirin glanced up towards the massive beast girl he'd just finished pacing around. “I know Sona but I just can't convince myself to stay still.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Sona as she reached down and rubbed a figure over Mirin's back. At a solid fifteen meters tall the beast girl made the human look like a rodent or even a mouse. “You don't need to worry even if one of the escapees was a mage and made it out of the forest it isn't likely they could have learned anything.”

    “No? If we can't even figure out who the mage is how are we suppose to say exactly what they learned.”

    “Because me and my sisters are the guardians of the village, the libraries, the citadel, the masters wrest and everything else except the market and a few minor areas. Don't you trust in us?”

    “This isn't a matter of trust Sona and you should know that. I trust you no more then I trust any of the keepers and I trust all of you with my life without hesitation.”

    “What is it a matter of then?”

    “They were able to sneak around some of the defenses you all have worked so hard to maintain. There is nothing saying that they weren't able to sneak around even more of them though the market is the least secure settled region. It still has me concerned.”

    A sigh escaped Sona as she gave a shrug. “Do you want me and a few of the others to go and search. We can search even faster then the others.”

    “I don't believe it has come to that.”

    “Well if things aren't that bad then you should just relax a little.” As she spoke Sona reached down and wrapped a hand around the majority of Mirin's body. She didn't bother asking for permission to pick him up as she lifted him into the air and placed him in her lap. “Now quit walking around so much.”

    “It helps me think.”

    A slight giggle escaped Sona as she released her grip on Mirin though she didn't set him down. “Think right there and stay still. Didn't you do all your thinking while meeting with the others though?”

    “We came up with some good ideals I believe. However, I'm worried that even once we find all the escapees it'll be difficult to find the mage.”

    “Knowing my sisters if the mage doesn't reveal itself you'll just have a bunch of broken claimed to work with. Either way he'll be a none threat once that has happened.”

    A sigh escaped Mirin as he shook his head. “Or it could mean the mage wasn't amongst them.”

    “Huh?”

    “It's just something that I've been thinking of. What if of the escapees that are brought back the mage isn't even amongst them? Perhaps it was in the group that Stella ripped apart or the first one that was found dead.”

    “I kind of doubt it was the one that was found dead. Now as for the ones Stella found that is possible.”

    “Also I feel like they're something else I'm not thinking of.”

    “Well pushing it won't help just try to relax and make yourself comfortable.” As she spoke Sona reached down and pushed her massive hand against Mirin pressing him back into her abdomen while he set on her thigh.

***********************************************************************************

    Nivon wasn't happy with this change of events. He'd been careful to gather those he knew well or at least knew of. He'd chosen the people with the most wilderness skills that he could gather without carrying along extra baggage to improve their odds of escaping from the forest. So he'd felt certain that he would end up picking the mage for his group yet none of the men amongst them was owning up to this status. It had him worried.

    “Hey Nivon how many more of those scrolls do we have?”

    “We only have three remaining.”

    “What?! That isn't enough for all of us.”

    “Gee you think?”

    “What are we going to do?”

    A sigh escaped Nivon as he shook his head. “Once the magic affecting all of us expires we're going to draw lots to see who gets the remaining scrolls. Those three are going to have to leave the group and travel on their own.”

    “Why leave the group?”

    “Because there is no point in three people that don't give off a scent being tracked by those that do. Plus it's the price of leaving the group. If three people don't want to leave the group then the two that do decide to can take the scrolls and fight over the last one themselves.”

    In response to this Linerd gave his head a shake. “Damn it all.”

    For a moment Nivon stopped and found himself staring at the ground. He'd been trying to keep track of their surroundings and find any signs that the beast girls had been using this path. He'd been expecting the signs to be in the trees but now he found himself staring at a foot print on the ground. “Shit! We can't continue along this path.”

    “What's the problem Nivon?”

    “Look.” As he spoke Nivon pointed towards the ground. The foot print was fairly human in shape except for a few problems. The way it sunk into the ground indicated a different distribution of pressure then what a human would normally do. It was also much larger and at the toes there were clear indication of claws.

    For a moment Linerd was silent as he looked at the markings he then gave a shrug. “What's the problem? One of them passed through here but that doesn't mean we can't stay on this path.”

    “There is more then one. Look ahead.”

    In response the entire group found themselves examining the ground. What they found was several foot prints all of them fairly recent. “They're patrolling this area.”

    In response Nivon gave a nod. “They know the safest paths through this forest and they're watching them. One of them could happen upon us any moment we have to move.” As he spoke Nivon didn't wait for the others but began to alter their direction a bit.

    “Nivon if we get lost in here we're as good as dead.”

    “If we get found by one of them we're as good as dead or worse.”

    Nivon chose to keep moving while speaking. “If you want to stay on this path fine if you want to come with me that's fine to. However, I'm not waiting around and we are safer in a group. They're more then a few dangerous things in this forest and we'll probably encounter one of them before we get out. Given our weapons I think we should stick together for the sake of numbers.”

***********************************************************************************

    As Joseph looked around the market he couldn't help but feel out of place. It had been quite a while since he'd last been there to pick up any supplies. It wasn't the long absence that made him feel odd it was how few people were currently walking around. Of course most of the women were out searching the forest and he knew why but it still seemed odd. There was still the smell of cooking going on and he believed the alchemy shop would still be open but they were several things that were shut down for the moment.

     Dan was actually surprised whenever he heard the door to his shop open up. Even more so whenever it was Joseph that stepped in. “Well hello there stranger it's been a while since I last saw you.”

    “Hey Dan, I decided that I could come into town and get something to eat today. Is Maria here? I was thinking that maybe we could eat together.”

    “Ah sorry Joseph I doubt she is though I wouldn't know where she was right now. Given Maria's speed I believe she'd be out helping with the search though. So Joseph how did your project turn out?”

    “I have a lot of mush to examine.” As he spoke Joseph was actually telling the truth. He would be studying the seeds that had been reduced to mush during the transformation. As long as Dan didn't ask if any of the seeds survived that would be fine.

    “I hope you learn something from it.”

    “Hey Dan I know you run the alchemy shop but you seem a bit well studied for a shopkeeper what do you do?”

    In response to the question Dan reached under the desk and brought up a rather heavy book. He quickly opened it up to a few random pages and turned it around for Joseph to see. “This is what I spend most of my time doing.”

    It only took Joseph a moment to realize what Dan was talking about. “You develop formulas?”

    “Yep. I develop them and someone else tests them. There is also a small alchemy lab in here for when I hit upon a question I really want to find the answer to quickly before I continue. Naturally I can't do anything that's really long term on my own but I trust in the testers.”

    “So who runs the test?”

    “Just some of the apprentice alchemist and mages.”

    “So now that your project has slowed down can we expect to see you here more often?”

    “Most likely it's kind of depressing the way things are right now. I guess part of me still expected to see a bunch of people walking around.”

    Before Dan could respond the door to the shop opened up and Mina stepped in. “Hey Dan I need some dried and powdered searing root. Oh hey Joseph it's good to see you here.”

    “Hello Mina, what do you need searing root for? Plan on cooking something spicy?”

    “Na, going to use it on the captured escapees.”

    “What? Why?”

    “Because pain motivates one to talk that or helps break them of course.”

    “You're torturing them?”

    In response Mina gave a quick nod. “Yep. We're trying to figure out who amongst them is the mage or break their spirit. I'm beginning to doubt they know who the mage is so I'm thinking we're just breaking their spirits at this point. Maybe it's time to let some of our sisters take out their anger on them. I know Stella would love to and Maria has a few she'd like to inflict some injuries upon.”

    “Mina what reason do you have to torture them?”

    A slight giggle escaped Mina as she immediately realized what was going on. “Joseph I'm kind of busy at the moment you can talk it over with Dan though. Dan do you have the powder?”

    “Mina I keep alchemy supplies here. What makes you think I would have a cooking ingredient?”

    “Dan I know there are a wide variety of things used in alchemy. I've even seen you use apples juice before so don't give me that.”

    In response Dan was made to grin. “Yeah I've got some. Give me a second.”

    For a moment Joseph was quiet he then quickly moved around the counter and began to walk along side Dan. “What is this about? I didn't think trying to escape brought on this kind of punishment.”

    “It depends on the means you use to try and escape. The escapees really messed up using those crystals and trying to take hostages. It was all I could do to convince the girls not to kill them there was no way to stop this from happening though.”

    “How did they mess up with the crystals?”

    “Joseph you know something about the girls. Quit letting emotions cloud your mind and remember what you know and think about it.”

    For a moment Joseph was silent yet he found himself helping Dan to lift a large sack and carry it into the main waiting room. “Those crystals were keeping them from hearing certain sound waves. I imagine to Maria, Mina and the others they were quite loud it was probably pretty painful.”

    While Mina had told Joseph to ask Dan she chose to speak up. “You got it.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “You're also punishing them for being acquainted with those that tried to take hostages. You're treating it as if they all knew of it and helped in it.”

    Before Mina could respond Dan spoke up. “I take it this will be enough Mina.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she reached down and easily retrieved the bag from the men. “Plenty.”

    Before Mina could leave Joseph had to speak up. “This isn't purely about revenge is it?”

    Now Mina gave a shrug. “Joseph I would be lying if I said that none of this had to do with revenge. This really was beyond a normal escape attempt.”

    As Mina made her way out the door Joseph turned to Dan. “Dan from what I know about you. You're a fairly moral person however I think I'm going to want to speak to Maria about this and get her people's point of view from her. If you see her do you think you could tell her to come and find me?”

    “Sure.”

***********************************************************************************

    As Maria set across from Joseph she had a wide smile in her face. It was night time by the time she'd gotten back but he'd still wanted to speak with her. “Okay Joseph I'll try to explain my reasons at least.”

    “Thanks Maria. I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around how easily your people can switch between kind and protective to brutal.”

    A slight giggle escaped Maria as she looked at Joseph. “You know we have trouble seeing how you can waste energy on those of so little value?”

    “I can't say I did.”

    “Okay Joseph here I go. Everyone of the escapee was ultimately in on the plot and while they didn't all participate in the same paths of escape they helped one another. They chose to use the singing crystals knowing full well the sound would hinder our ability to hear but they also should have known that it would be painful to us. Whether or not they realized that it would have been painful to us they should have thought of the side affects on their actions. It's one of the reasons we're not allowed to openly fight in the market no matter how mad we are.”

    “Okay so they caused you pain.”

    “Yes, however the big thing in all of this is some of them tried to take hostages. As soon as they started talking about such things they should have either got out of the plan or warned us. Any claimed attempting to harm a brother would normally be killed immediately. That includes those that helped them as well. I don't mean quickly either.”

    “You decided not to kill them though because you need the labor. Why the torture though? I know you're trying to figure out who the mage is but surely by now they would have told you or you would have found the mage. Yet you continue to torture them. You can't say that it's purely to insure that they never try such a thing again either as you said you'd let them go once they gave you the information you wanted.”

    “That's a little bit political. Some of our sisters still want to kill them and painfully. This helps diminish that desire to kill them. We do want to insure that they never try something like this ever again but we're willing to trade that off for information.”

    “I see so you feel that finding the mage is more important then insuring that they never make such a move again?”

    “Yep!”

    “Maria how do you do it though? I lived with you Flora and Mira. I've gotten to know Mina very well and you all seem to be very kind people to me. How do you torture them like that?”

    “Because they're not worth feeling anything for.”

    “Huh?”

    “Joseph I don't see why it bothers you so much.”

    “It bothers me because they're sentient beings to.”

    “Does being sentient mean you already have value?”

    “Everyone has value Maria.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Maria for a moment as she tapped her cheek. “Well I agree that everyone is born with value but I don't agree that everyone has value. Those claimed that are being worked on now proved that they don't have any value to us. We believed that they did have value for a while but they proved us wrong. We're just fixing them now so that they have value.”

    “You believe you have the right to make them into what you want them to be?”

    “Of course! They would be dead other wise.”

    “Saving their life shouldn't give you that type of authority over them.”

    “Ah well I'm going to have to disagree.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. He was actually a bit surprised whenever he felt a hand come and wrest upon his shoulder and once again found himself looking at Maria. “So just because you saved their lives you have the right to do with them as you want?”

    In response Maria gave a quick nod. “That's why they're called the claimed they're property and property can't be allowed to hurt its owners. Of course we have given them the right to take their own lives so I don't see what you're so upset about. If it hadn't been for us they would have been dead. We still give them the choice to die if they want to but we also give them the chance to earn their lives back. However, the escapees took the freedom we gave them and chose to use it to hurt us.”

    “I don't agree with your methods.”

    “Are you mad us?”

    “I well.” For a moment Joseph went quiet and shook his head. “No. I'm not mad at you or your sisters or brothers. Maria is there a way that I could help the claimed?”

    “Um well you can bring them some food or something to reduce the pain if you want to.”

    “What?”

    A slight chuckle escaped Maria as she looked at Joseph. “You can ease their suffering if you want to do it. You can also come up with another method of insuring those that tried to escape recently never do it again so that we relent. Naturally you can't give them anything before or during their session but you can give them something after words.”

    “Are you serious?”

    “Sure! It's your choice after all.”

    “I see. What would I have to do to maybe convince you all to relent?”

    “You could offer us something we really want or come up with something to take our attention away from the escapees punishment. If you were to find out who the mage was and offer to tell us to convince us to back off the escapees that'd work wonderfully.”

    For a moment Joseph went silent. He knew about the seed currently growing in the pot. He could always offer them that to get them to let up on the escapees or even set them free. However, that was something he wasn't willing to give up. “I guess I need to get to work on finding out who the mage is.”

***********************************************************************************

    Sumon was silent at first as he felt the liquid being poured into his eyes. The pain from the powder went away almost immediately and even the sting vanished shortly after. “What is this about?”

    As Joseph continued washing the powder from Sumon's eyes he gave a sigh. “I need you to tell me about the escape.”

    “Fuck. I don't know who the mage is. Don't you think I would have told them by now if I did?”

    “Probably. However, you might know more then you think. You can tell me while you eat.”

    “Huh?” Before Sumon could respond he felt something placed in his hand. It took him a moment of feeling around to realize that he was holding an apple. For the moment he still wasn't quite ready to open his eyes. Cautiously he lifted the apple to his mouth and took a bite.

    “I'm trying to help you and all the escapees.”

    “And here I thought you were just the whore of those bit.” Sumon didn't get to finish as he felt something slam into the side of his face. The impact wasn't extremely powerful but it was still solid and it did hurt enough to shut him up.

    It actually surprised Joseph when he struck Sumon. He didn't expect himself to lash out like that. Oddly he felt the need though the moment he realized what Sumon was saying. “Don't call them that.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Sumon despite the situation. “Sure whatever you say. So you want me to tell you about the escape attempt?”

    “Yes though if you don't want to that is fine. I'll just go talk to someone else.”

    “You must think I'm pretty damn stupid. I know what will happen if I don't tell you what you want to know.”

    “I don't intend on doing anything to you if you don't tell me.”

    “You may not but they will. I know those beast will go even harder on me if I don't cooperate with you.”

    “I'm doing this of my own choosing.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Sumon as he shook his head. “You're one of their favorite toys. It doesn't matter what you think they're listening to this conversation right now. I know that they'll double what I've had to endure already if I refuse to talk.”

    “I don't know where you're getting this.”

    “That's because you're an alchemist so they are nice to you. You came in with a useful skill. Try coming in as a soldier that only knows how to fight something they can do plenty well already. See how they treat such people. You've seen the pretty stuff.”

    “Enough! Tell me what I asked or I'm going to find someone else who will.”

    “Fine. I guess you want to know when this all started. It began a bit over fifteen months ago as far as I know. I came in a little late but was told that supplies were being stored in the tannery. I was told to smuggle in what I could and I could come along during the escape attempt. At first I wasn't going to do it but then I saw just what the operation was like. What really got me going though was when I saw the scrolls.

    Scrolls to hide our scent was just the thing we needed to make our escape I thought. However, it didn't stop there. The crystals came a little while later. I started being asked to keep an eye out for certain plants and minerals I can't say I brought in a whole lot but others did somehow.

    Naturally I wondered who was making the scrolls but I couldn't find out. A guy named Sivon was one of the main organizers of it all. He planned out where to hide the crystals, organized a few of the groups and even had the date picked for when we would escape. Then one of those beast found our supplies. We thought we were sunk but she only found some of the food stuff the crystals and scrolls were far better hidden thankfully.

    Everyone agreed that them just finding the food would most likely lead to the searches being more frequent though. Even if the searchers weren't careful the fact that they would be coming more often meant we had greater chances of failure. The escape date had to be moved up an awful lot. Now I don't know if that was such a good ideal.

    The majority of the scrolls came through a guy from the gale kingdom.”

    “Hold on.”

    “Huh? You thought of something.”

    Instead of answering right away Joseph bit down on his lower lip. Maria had told him a little bit about their hunt and she'd mentioned coming upon a soldier from the gale kingdom who had already been killed. “Would you say that soldier from the gale kingdom provided most of the scrolls and crystals?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Sumon I might be back to talk to you again later for now I need to go talk to someone else. I would wish you a good day but I'm afraid that isn't going to happen.”

***********************************************************************************

    For a moment Dan said nothing as he looked at Joseph when words finally did come there was a bit of surprise in his voice. “So you think that the soldier the girls found dead wasn't just a decoy but rather he was the one connection between the others and the actual mage. Then once the actual escape went under way they killed him so no one would be certain who the mage was.” A sigh escaped Dan. “Well it is possible in that case though we're going to have to find out who his keeper was.”

    In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Yes so how would I go about doing that?”

    “Listen Joseph it sounds like you might actually be onto something so I'm going to help you with this if you don't mind.”

    “That would be fine and appreciated.”

    “I'm going to go and get Mina I'm sure that those she's currently working on will appreciate the break in their treatment. She saw the corpse and will probably know who their keeper was. Would you like to come along?”

    “No thanks.”

***********************************************************************************

    Liana felt somewhat awkward as she walked into the alchemy shop. She actually out ranked Dan in most respects but being summoned to talk about the escape by a brother and one potential brother still felt odd. She almost felt like she'd done something bad and was about to have to defend her case. “Dan Mina said you wanted to speak to me?”

    It actually surprised Joseph when Liana entered the room. She was approximately four meters tall like all the other keepers. Her fur was a light chocolate color except for a few patches of white. What was truly surprising though was how slowly she entered the room and cautiously she looked around. Her tail was actually wrapped around her right leg.

    “Please put these on this might take a while.” As he spoke Dan brought out the jewelery all females had to wear in the shop.

    Upon Dan offering it Liana took a few steps into the room and took the jewelery. As she slipped them on she set down. “So you think that the claimed I was watching might have had more to do with the escape then the others?”

    In response Dan gave a nod. “Liana you need to relax. You know neither Joseph or I have any real ability to discipline, denounce or even force you to be here.”

    “I know that it's just. Do you two think I did something wrong?”

    A sigh escaped Dan as he shook his head. “Liana I know you only recently obtained keeper status and were allowed to have a body this large. You don't need to worry though neither of us are here to make you look bad or do anything that might get you in trouble.”

    “Do you think I did something wrong though? I tried to do my best but I didn't plan on being this type of keeper. I should have been watching them better I know that.”

    A sigh escaped Dan as he shook his head. “Liana be quiet.”

    It actually surprised Joseph whenever Liana responded immediately by shutting her mouth. If it hadn't been for her size he imagined she'd looked quite meek at the moment. It was clear that she was worried. “Liana you seem rather new at this.”

    Instead of letting Liana answer Dan spoke up. “Liana here is very very young for a keeper. She's actually a bit younger then Mira.”

    “That's very impressive Liana.”

    “Thank you.”

    After a moment of silence Dan spoke up. “Now Liana I want you to relax and quit acting like this is a court trial. You're not in any trouble. We need to ask you some things about the escapee that was killed by his fellows. From what we've been able to gather he was one of yours.”

    In response Liana gave a quick nod. “Yeah he was. I don't know what to tell you though. He got out of line every once in a while and I had to punish him from time to time but he mostly did as he was told.”

    Now Joseph spoke up. “Do you remember who he normally talked to or someone that he only talked to occasionally? You see Liana we believe that he might have been the one meeting with whomever provided the scrolls and singing crystals for the escape attempt.”

    “I well. I remember he had a small group he hung around with but I couldn't bring them to you. They were the ones that tried to hurt Allen.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised by that. How about people that he only spoke to on occasion or times that you think exchanges could have went down.”

    In response to this Liana gave a sigh and looked at the ground. “It would have been so easy for them to meet in the tannery. That or left things behind for one another.”

    After a moment Joseph gave a nod. “That building is quite an issue but sort of a requirement for certain goods.”

    “Yeah.”

    “Okay Liana we're going to take this slowly. You need to tell me every group of claimed that you can remember yours working with. We can move on from there.”

***********************************************************************************

    Joseph didn't think any of the people that the sisters were currently working on were the mage. He highly doubted that any of them knew who the mage was as well. If they did know they would have spoken up by now and if they were the mage they would have most likely spoken up to end their pain at this point. However, he'd learned that not every group that had worked with Liana's had tried to escape.

    This opened up a possibility but he didn't know if he wanted to bring it up. What if the mage had been part of another group that hadn't tried to escape? He wouldn't have been being tortured at the moment. Indeed he or she would be well away from such treatment. It wasn't a pleasant thought. Of course seeing what was happening the mage wasn't going to come forward on their own.

    It brought up a troublesome question. What would happen if he told the girls about his theory? Would they start torturing all the claimed in hopes of finding the one mage? It was a thought that Joseph didn't find comforting at all. However, if he was right and the mage hadn't been part of any group that tried to escape then those that had were simply out of luck if he didn't speak up.

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he stood up and made his way outside. He couldn't sleep with these thoughts running through his head. Fear of what would happen to those claimed that had done nothing to deserve to suffer kept him from talking to the girls. A desire to help those that were currently being tortured made him feel guilt for not speaking up.

    However, all of this brought up one more question that was keeping him awake. Why hadn't the mage tried to escape? He could think of several answers but he wasn't sure what one it was. There was a chance that the mage had planned to try to escape with them but been caught doing something else. Perhaps one of the keepers had kept him busy that night and he simply hadn't had the chance.

    There was also a chance that the mage had refused to go along. Perhaps they'd felt that leaving prematurely was too risky and opted to stay behind. The others had decided to take the risk and went on ahead. It could have also been a test run. Perhaps the mage just wanted to see if they could escape to plan for a future action.

    Then there was the man that had been found killed from Liana's group. He was the most likely connection between the mage and the wrest of the escapees. He couldn't tell them anything though now that he was dead. If he was the connection between the mage and the others though why had he been killed? Perhaps those that killed him did so just because he was a gale soldier and they wanted a decoy. It was possible.

    “Damn it! I should have asked if any of those escapees near the corpse had anything special on them or any extra supplies.” Thoughts that the gale soldier may have been killed for additional supplies was something that Joseph hadn't considered. Now that the thought manifest himself he wanted to kick himself.

    “Who would you ask that?”

    Joseph actually gave a slight jump upon hearing the voice. Almost frantically he turned around to try and locate the source of it. “Who's there?”

    “No need to be so jumpy! My name is Kiara.” As she spoke Kiara finally let Joseph see her coming out from amongst the branches.

    Immediately Joseph recognized Kiara as a guardian and gave a slight sigh. “You scared me.”

    “Sorry I was out getting some things and heard some commotion coming from this location. I decided to come over and check on you.”

    In response to this Joseph gave his head a slight nod. “Was I really making that much noise?”

    In response Kiara reached up and rubbed the outside of her ear. “Well you were moving around an awful lot. Given the time of night I didn't know what was going on and considering what happened recently I thought it best to be safe rather then risk being sorry.”

    To this Joseph gave a nod. As he calmed down he couldn't help but notice Kiara was holding some form of cylinder. “You said you were out to get something. Would you mind telling me what?”

    “Ah just some water.” As she spoke Kiara bent down and opened the cylinder she was packing revealing that it was full of what appeared to be sand. “Actually I was going to stop by your workshop once I retrieved some.”

    Immediately Joseph realized what Kiara was doing. The sand inside the cylinder was a special alchemical powder that could absorb massive amounts of water. Once the water was absorbed all one had to do was add a second reagent to cause it to be released. Of course if one released all the water at once they could easily flood a building or even some streets. “You can really carry that when it's full?”

    A slight giggle escaped Kiara as she gave a nod. “Of course I can! Would you like to go for a walk with me? You seem tense.”

    There was a moment when Joseph was silent as he realized something. While Kiara had surprised him initially that wasn't why he was talking to her. In truth he'd been hoping for someone to talk to. “I. Well.” For a moment Joseph went silent then gave his head a nod. “Yeah that would be nice. I haven't been able to get to sleep.”

    In response Kiara took a few more steps forward to stand beside Joseph. “Okay then let's walk. I'll keep the pace slow so you can keep up.”

    “Kiara I probably should have asked someone else this but have you been the one feeling up the water tanks at my workshop?”

    In response Kiara gave a quick nod. “Yep that's me. I sort of make sure all the alchemy shops have the basic things they need to keep operating.”

    “So you know that I've spent several nights in my workshop right?”

    “Yeah you're not the only one though. You really should have asked for help though. Some of the others would have been happy to stand in for you and make sure whatever you were working on didn't mess up.”

    “Yeah but that would have forced me to give away more information then I would have liked to.”

    “Ah that can be an issue. You know Joseph if you're having trouble sleeping the market is never closed. There quite a few fun events that go on there.”

    “You know I hear music some nights.”

    “Well if you lived closer you'd hear music every night. It's just some times we play it louder then usual.”

    “Ah. So exactly what happens at night there?”

    “Hm oh lots of stuff. I like to go dancing there myself.”

    “I see. So who's the one playing the drums so loud?”

    “Ah well different people. Mina is really good at them though.”

    “Huh?”

    A slight giggle escaped Kiara as she noticed the expression on Joseph's face. “Mina is quite good at playing the drums. Every now and then she and Dan will show up and she'll decide to put on a show for everyone. The only problem is whenever she slips up and accidentally breaks something. Our instruments are durable as you might imagine but she can go really over do it.”

    “Does Maria know how to play any instruments?”

    “Yeah she does or at least she did. She hasn't played in a really long time. Not since her speed increase.”

    “So you knew Maria back then?”

    “Ah well I didn't really know her I knew of her. I was quite young at the time you see.”

    “I see. I imagine increasing your speed so much so quickly would throw off anyones game. What did she play?”

    “A variety of things actually mostly percussion instruments though.”

    “I'll have to ask her about that la.” As he spoke Joseph felt his foot catch on a root and found himself stumbling forward. Before he could regain his balance though or fall he felt something take hold of him.

    “Careful.”

    “You all seem to have very quick reflexes.” A sigh escaped Joseph as Kiara helped him stand up strait.

    “We kind of have to otherwise we'd always been slamming into things while running.”

    “That's true. Kiara I hope you don't mind me asking this but I was under the assumption you all couldn't be around alchemical items. At least that was my assumption for a while. Then I realized that Mina had been around the singing crystals and Maria had no trouble holding the jelly I made.”

    “We can be around alchemical items so long as they're stable. It's while they're unstable that we can't be around or we might ruin them.”

    “I see. So that powder you're packing. There is no danger of something going wrong with it?”

    “Nope. On that subject give me a second.” As she spoke Kiara quickened her pace and moved ahead of Joseph moving over to the river they'd been traveling towards.

    “So Kiara how did you end up on a night job like this?”

    “OH we do pretty well during the day or night. I just feel more comfortable at night though I guess it's the predator in me.” As she was speaking Kiara held the container in the flow of the river. She noted the container growing heavier and heavier as the water seemed to disappear into the powder. Its mass didn't vanish though.

    “Kiara just how strong are you compared to a human? I have trouble just lifting a cup of that if I fill it.”

    “Ah it kind of varies from sister to sister.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “I guess that isn't surprising. Still, I thought Maria was a child and I saw her tear through armor with ease. I'm going to guess that given an equal amount of volume of muscle you'd be roughly thirty times stronger then a well conditioned soldier.”

    Before speaking Kiara gave a slight grunt and hefted the container from the river. She then slipped its cap back on and began to walk back towards Joseph. As she walked she could feel her feet sinking into the ground due to the additional weight she was packing. Until she got out of the muddy earth around the river her feet were sinking in up to her ankles. “That seems like a fair guess.”

    “So you're not going to confirm it?”

    In response Kiara gave a shrug. “Can you tell me how much stronger you are then a kitten?”

    “Um well. No.”

    A slight giggle escaped Kiara as she gave Joseph a slight push on his back. “We don't bother comparing ourselves to humans like that it just seems kind of pointless. Like you comparing yourself to kittens.”

    “I see.”

    “Come on I'll walk you back to your workshop and you can help me fill up your tank. Then I'll see you home unless you want to come to the market.”

    Before he could respond Joseph felt a rush of movement and something moved past him. It actually sent a chill up his spine and left him staring at Kiara. “What was that?”

    “Nothing much just a pest. Don't worry about it.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod and began to walk. As he moved though he noticed Kiara flicking her index finger as if trying to get something off of it. “Kiara do any of your sisters have pets?”

    “Yep! Some of us do at least.”

    “I've never seen any of you with a pet so I was just curious. What do you tend to keep as pets?”

    “Birds mostly as well as some small cats but that's a relatively recently happening.”

    “Cats and birds?”

    “Yeah, we're not allowed to keep anything that could pose a serious threat to one of our brothers or someone that's young. So we're kind of restricted to pets that aren't dangerous. Some of my sisters have taken to keeping the small cats that you humans have around your homes and barns at times.”

    “So do you have any pets Kiara?”

    “I had a bird when I was young. I got bored of it one day and ate it though.”

    “Um.” For a moment Joseph went silent as he tried to figure out how to respond to such a statement. It was only when an ideal first began to form in his head that he noticed Kiara was laughing slightly. “You just lied to me.”

    “Well I did have a pet bird but I didn't eat it.”

    “What happened?”

    “It got old and died.”

    “Ah I see. So how did you come across a pet bird?”

    “I was out hunting and found the little thing with its wing broken. I thought about just killing it and eating it at first but after a few moments I decided the bird was pretty. Of course I also decided that it smelt good but I figured I could take care of it and fatten it up. If the bird still smelt tastier then it was amusing to have around I could just eat it then. I grew fond of the bird and decided to keep it as my pet.”

    “So how often do sisters eat each others pets?”

    “Oh not often that'd be a good way to get quite a nasty scratch. Really that would just be an act of meanness. We do play some games with the birds though.”

    “Such as?”

    “Well for example at times will tie a little letter or attach a small key to one of their legs. The bird is then let loose in the forest and we have to track it down after a few hours. Whoever captures the bird first and returns it alive to its owner gets a reward. However, there is a catch. If the owner has taught the bird well enough and it returns to them of its own choosing they automatically win.”

    “Ah I see. So have you ever competed against Maria on such games?”

    “Flora's Maria? I assume that's who you're talking about as I can smell her on you.”

    “Yeah that is the one.”

    “Someone like Maria would have to wait additional time before she could join in on the game. Well at least those games that involve tracking over long distances.”

    “I see. That's kind of unfair isn't it though? If the bird doesn't fly very far away you'll all find it before those forced to set out even have a chance. While if the bird does fly a decent distance away you've got a head start that they have to cover meaning things are still fairly balanced.”

    In response Kiara gave a nod. “I know that it seems kind of unfair. However, if someone like Maria started at the same time we all did no one else would ever win. It's really hard to play a game knowing that you're going to lose.”

    “I can see your point though I still think it's unfair. Why don't you just do something to handicap those with such natural gifts so they can start at the same time?”

    “What do you have in mind?”

    “Hm well you're worried about Maria's speed. How about you have her carry extra weight? Though not enough to reduce her speed down to your levels as that would hinder mobility too much. It could be enough that her ability to move through the trees is limited though and it does slow her down.”

    “Well that is a possibility.” For a moment Kiara grew silent and looked up into the trees. “I'll tell the others you mentioned that next time and maybe more of us can compete. Oh! I just remembered something.”

    “What is that?”

    “Well you're still welcome to come to the market with me today but don't expect much of a party.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “I was going to mention that. Aren't most of you out searching for the escapees?”

    “Yeah, after a long day of hunting some will come back to listen to some music, dance play games and the such however most will probably go home and go to sleep.”

    “On the subject of sleep. How much does your species need?”

    “In all honesty we like as much sleep as most humans for the most part. It depends on how much we've eaten though. If we're eating we can actually do without sleep though that isn't really an option normally except during times of war.”

    “I imagine that's an advantage during war.”

    “Yep, kill the enemy, eat what's left to recharge your batteries and move on.”

    For a moment Joseph gave a slight shudder. “I really don't like to think about any of you eating another human being.”

    “I don't like to think of good food going to waste.”

    “Come now humans can't taste that good.”

    “Taste is a matter of perspective.” A slight giggle escaped Kiara as she flashed Joseph some of her teeth. “I think humans taste just fine though I do prefer venison.”

    “Kiara have you ever eaten a human?”

    A slight giggle escaped Kiara as she stuck her tongue out at Joseph. “Blast you.”

    “I take that as a no.”

    “No. I have never eaten a human the chance has never arose.”

    Joseph actually found himself grinning as he had caught Kiara in the middle of her big bad beast act. “Has the chance never really arose or have you never found a reason to.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Kiara as she shook her head. “Most people I meet I'm able to make uncomfortable for at least a few days. Some of them avoid me to this day though.”

    “I've spoken to Maria a lot and have found it's best to ask you people as many questions as I can before I make any decisions. So Kiara, just why are you the one going around and refilling the water reserves of the work shops?”

    “Someone has to do it and it isn't hard. Plus it gives me a chance to look around.”

    “Kiara I assume that you've come by my workshop while I was there working.”

    In response Kiara gave a quick nod. “Indeed I have fairly frequently actually. I guess this is the point where you want to start asking me awkward questions about what I might have heard while I was taking care of things or why I never let you know I was there. I'll go ahead and tell you I haven't been spying on you though I do know about some of your past from my sisters.”

    “I see. What about not revealing you were there?”

    “Well why didn't you ever bother asking why you never had to refill your own water supply?”

    “Ah well. That is actually a very good question. I suppose I realized that someone was keeping the tank full.”

    In response Kiara gave a nod. “So I try not to bother people while they're working. Do you even know where your water tank is?”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “Yeah. I inspected the workshop a short while after I began working there.”

    “Well then give me a second and I'll refill it. So do you want me to walk you home or would you like to come with me to the market? It'll be kind of dead tonight like I said earlier but there should be some people there unwinding.” As she spoke Kiara made her way over to Joseph's workshop and began to make her way around the building and too the tank. She wouldn't need to empty the entire supply of water she had with her into it. She actually had enough to fill up most if not all the workshops on her rout.

    “I believe I'll go there some other time though I can find my own way home.”

    “Ah at night? I don't think so. I led you this far out so I'm going to take you back home.”

    “Don't worry about it. I've walked this path at night before.”

    As she was speaking Kiara finished refilling the tank of Joseph's shop and made her way back around to him resealing the container as she moved. “No. I'm going to escort you back it's dark and despite what you may think it's easy for you humans to get turned around in the forest. I don't want to have to go out and search for you later because you got lost at night whenever I could have taken you back to your home.”

    “Kiara you don't.” Joseph didn't get to finish as Kiara spoke up.

    “This isn't negotiable.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “Okay then if that is your stance I guess I can't do much about it. Kiara would you mind if I asked you a few questions though? They're about your political set up.”

    “Sure though you'll probably find our politics are simple compared to what you humans put yourselves through.”

    In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Well I guess I'd like to start at the top. Just who is your leader?”

    “Ah well we don't really have a leader. We have several leaders though they're broken up into groups. As you might have noticed those sisters ranked seven or higher are the major leaders of the community. That's one of the reasons they are called keepers they maintain far more then just the claimed. The highest ranked members of our society are the nines and they're broken up into those sisters ranked as nines and those brothers.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “I see. So do they govern over different things?”

    “Some things they govern over jointly others they govern over separately. One example I can give you is the claimed. The sisters are in charge of what happens to the claimed and those that join our society ranks claimed to four. Though, the brothers can encourage the sisters to promote you they can't actually force us to make you into a four.”

    “What about four to five?”

    “That's actually the brothers call. No matter how much we may approve of you the sisters can't elevate you to a five. It's something of a safety measure. In case the brothers feel we're promoting you too quickly they can put a lid on things before it gets out of hand.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “I see. From what I've heard spoken of the brothers also control food storage and alchemical supplies. At least the food and supplies that belong to the community.”

    “They more control the alchemical and magical supplies then they do the food but yes they keep track of what's being brought in. We on the other hand tend to see to defense and decide what steps are required.”

    “I see. So if the brothers felt that a town was getting too close to the forest they couldn't force any of you to attack it?”

    A slight chuckle escaped Kiara. “Ah well in theory that's true but I think you got the situation reversed. If we felt something was getting too close to our forest our brothers couldn't really stop us from destroying it. I think I'm making things out to be more rigid then they are though.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “It's really rare whenever a brother or sister pulls rank on one another or area of influence. It's seen as a poor practice and typically the brothers and sisters try to talk things out rather then say. It's my call and I don't care what you think.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “Who's in charge of zoning and construction?”

    “Huh?”

    “I mean deciding what buildings will be built and which ones maintained.”

    “Oh! Mm well that's really something that's taken care of jointly. The brothers can request a building be built while the sisters tend to ask for space. We decide whenever the buildings are becoming too dense and what is too close to the market area or other sections. As for up keep.” For a moment Kiara grew silent.

    “Is something wrong Kiara?”

    A slight giggle escaped Kiara as she gave a shrug. “You know I don't know who exactly handles that decision. I know we take care of any building that is well used or has valuables in it.”

    “Are you serious? My work shop was in great condition though. Surely you had to be making a conscious effort to take care of it.”

    “Well we do but it's not like anyone has to tell us to do that.”

    “So no one tells you were to deliver water to?”

    A slight giggle escaped Kiara as she shook her head. “Some people have asked me to bring extra water to their shop if they were using it a lot. They're also some buildings that I don't tend to but no. There isn't anyone that tells me where to go.”

    “Isn't that rather lacking in organization?”

    “Ah well. I guess. That this entire forest is the home of me, my sisters and my brothers. We try to take care of our home.”

    “What are you told to do then Kiara?”

    “Oh I've been told to go kill this tribe or that tribe before. I'm not joking this time. I've also been sent to check on some activity near our border and make sure no one was trying to take from the forest. I've been sent out gathering a few times as well. They're some plants that only really show themselves at night.”

    “I. This is all very strange.”

    “I suppose it seems rather lacking in organization but.” For a moment Kiara grew silent and shook her head. “Well come on it isn't like any of this stuff is hard for us to do. I mean we could just decide to just sleep and eat without ever trying to do something or improve our lot in life but how much would that achieve?”

    “Well that is a good point.” Even as he spoke Joseph also realized another factor when it came to the beast girls. He doubted their minds were entirely human. From what he'd learned of it he was certain their culture was very different from his own. “Kiara is there anything you do that you wouldn't deem natural for your kind? Something you'd even call hard.”

    “Allow humans we don't like or respect to live.”

    “Huh?”

    “I doubt anyone told you this but it's actually hard for us to keep some of the claimed around and not just kill them.”

    “Could you explain why you do it then and what humans?”

    “It's hard to keep people around that would kill us if they had a moments chance. Our instinct tells us that we should remove the threat immediately one way or the other. However, we also need them for their services as they are some tasks we just aren't suited to doing thanks to our noses, in some cases our ears and a few other things I can't name.”

    “Why don't you have the humans that are part of the community and brothers do them then?”

    “They have more important tasks to attend to of course. What do you think we'd really have you be doing? Making alchemical supplies for the community or helping to toughen and preserve animal skin? There's a pretty big difference in the value of the service.”

    “That's true.”

    “Keeper is both a desired and a disliked tasks. It's desired due to the larger size, more powerful body and diminished hunger but you also have to restrain yourself. You have to tolerate the glares of the claimed and pretend you can't here whenever they whisper behind your back. You have to stop and think rationally if they've done something to deserve death or if you're just being emotional.”

    “I thought all the keepers I've met enjoyed the job.”

    “They do! Well depending on how you look at it. They enjoy their bodies and they enjoy providing a service to the community and knowing they're helping everyone. Don't you feel a bit of excitement whenever you do something knowing that you've helped a great deal of people?”

    “Well there is a feeling of accomplishment.”

    “That's what most keepers enjoy about their position of course not all keepers keep claimed.”

    “Ah yes I've heard as much about that. So are they any keepers that have it rougher then those that keep claimed?”

    “Ah well that's all a matter of opinion to be honest with you. Some keepers would love to work in the library and others tend to dislike the position. Naturally we try to swap out keepers so that all of them end up in a position they're happy with. It can't always be done though.”

    “What about you guardians?”

    “Our positions are less rigid and give more free time. As for if there is something I don't like.” For a moment Kiara grew silent and tapped her cheek. “They're a few things but I hate to list then as they're really minor and not worth giving voice to. I guess what I hate most is when I have to work with stone.”

    “Why do you work with stone?”

    “Well as you noticed I help to maintain the buildings delivering water is just one thing I do. I also help with repairs. As for why I hate stone. I just hate how it feels against my claws something about it.” For a moment Kiara went silent and was made to shiver. “Just drives me up the wall. Wood I like though. I like how my claws feel whenever I slowly run them through a bit of wood and it's nice to work with.”

    “Well Kiara I hope to speak to you again some other time. However, I think it's time for us to part ways.”

    In response Kiara gave a nod as she noted Joseph's home. “It was nice having some company.”

***********************************************************************************

    It was hard for Maria to contain herself even as she let out a roar to her sisters. While the roar wouldn't reach throughout the entire forest it would reach some of her sisters and they would follow suit to the others. The message let lose was simple. She believed that she'd found something and was now in pursuit. She just wished that she could tell them she smelt human blood.

    This was why they had stayed together. As Nivon looked at the kobolds that surrounded them he felt his back press against his fellow escapees. The creatures had been out roaming the forest when they'd stumbled upon one another. The kobolds had wasted no time in attacking the humans. It was typical behavior for a species that didn't like other sentient beings competing for food resources or anything else for that matter. Especially one as naturally inclined to violence as a kobold.

    Linerd took a moment to glance over at one of his fellow escapees. The kobolds had managed to catch him with an arrow but it wasn't fatal yet. It had sliced into his arm making it fairly difficult for the man to use apparently but he was still standing. As Linerd looked at the kobolds though he longed for his true armor and weapons.

    The kobolds knew that they had the numeric advantage that was clear. Nivon felt confident he and the others could get through the situation though. He'd already managed to kill two of the creatures that had made the mistake of getting too close to him. Now he held one of their clubs in one hand and his rough short sword in the other. Some movement to his side caught his attention and he quickly turned actually managing to strike the attacker with the club before it even got close to him.

    It seemed the others had been waiting for one of their own to charge. Even as Nivon downed one the others rushed forward screeching horribly. Fortunately for the individuals they were standing with former soldiers. Instead of breaking ranks each man moved to cover the other as they struggled to keep from being crushed by the kobolds numbers.

    It was rather upsetting for the war leader as he saw his kobolds being beaten back. At first happening upon the humans had seemed a good thing. He'd hoped to retrieve some items of use from them and some food thinking they were easy targets. Given their clothing he wasn't expecting them to fight like this. By kobold standards war leaders were considered smart however he hadn't even considered that he might be fighting trained soldiers.

    Angered screeches reached Maria's ears as she dashed through the forest. She felt confident that there plan had worked. The escapees had been driven too close to kobold territory and now were being forced to fight for their lives. Unfortunately she had no ideal how long the fight had been going on. She hoped that most of the escapees weren't dead. They needed to question them after all.

    Nivon had no fondness for kobolds but rather held a deep dislike of them. A dislike that would have easily been hatred if he didn't consider creatures so far beneath such feelings. He did however know enough of their species to realize that such a group had to have a leader. If they could kill this leader he felt confident the others would flee.

    Linerd found it hard to fight as he more bashed the kobolds that neared him to death then cut them. His crude weapon was a frustration but it was better then nothing. “Nivon we're holding on but they're a lot of these basters we need to do something.”

    “I know, look for their leader. It should be the largest out of the bunch or the best dressed. If we can kill that then the others should run off.”

    Stella had actually been caught by surprise whenever she'd heard Maria's roar. Now she found herself sprinting along trying to locate her smaller sister. She might not have officially been part of the search team anymore but she could still respond to one of her sister's calls. As she drew closer though she could hear the sounds of battle.

    She knew about her sisters plans to force the escapees into a confrontation with some other denizens of the forest. She also realized that Maria might have found something pertaining to this. So there was an element of risk in her going. If she lost her temper and tore these escapees up she knew that she'd be in trouble considering that she was already being disciplined. This time she would have to control her temper and keep herself from pulling anyone apart.

    It had been easy for Maria to catch up with the escapees once she'd heard the sound. As she came upon the battle though she kept herself hidden. Her first instinct had been to rush into the battle and help the escapees to survive. Now that she was there she realized that there was another choice.

    If she rushed in and dealt with the kobolds there would be no reason for the mage to reveal himself. If she stayed out though she could observe from a distance and if the battle went poorly Maria felt confident the mage would reveal himself. The only problem was if the kobolds managed to kill the mage or began to get the upper hand. There was also the chance that the mage might let himself be captured if the kobolds attempted to do so in order to better his cover.

    There was a rush of adrenalin as Nivon's eyes fell upon the kobold war leader. Immediately he wanted to rush forward and strike down the creature but he knew that would be suicide. They were holding out quite well but breaking ranks would be a bad move. “Everyone form up into a v behind me. Be careful to watch one another we're going to push towards the group to the left.”

    “What's over there?”

    “Just trust me on this. Linerd you're on my right, Garret you're on my left. I'll be the tip.”

    In response Linerd gave a nod. “Alright.” As he spoke Linerd was already moving into position preparing himself for the push.

    Nivon might not have been the group leader by any official proclamation but the others still seemed ready to follow. As the ranks began to form up he took in a deep breath. “Move!” With that Nivon quickly began to rush forward noting Linerd and Garret on either side of him.

    In response to the sudden rush the kobold war leader was made to recoil slightly. It immediately realized what was going on and gave a harsh shout. It had of course kept the best armed and most experienced kobolds with itself. Instead of trying to run though the creature began to push towards Nivon. Unlike Nivon though the kobold chose to stay at the back of his bodyguard. 

    As Maria watched the events unfolding she could see another problem in her plan. If the humans gained the upper hand the kobolds would run. At least that would leave them tired though and more likely to comply with her requests. At least she would have some help though as she listened to one of her sisters approaching. It actually surprised her how close this one was though she didn't know who it was yet as the wind wasn't bringing the scent to her.

    It only took a few seconds though it seemed longer for Nivon to near the first kobold. The creature swung its mace in a wide arc which Nivon easily blocked using the club he'd picked up earlier to strike the kobold close to its hand. He then quickly thrust forward actually managing to sink his rough short sword into the creature. As he dispatched the first kobold though one moved to his side. He didn't have to worry about it as the creature received a quick strike from Linerd.

    For a moment Maria was made to sigh. She could already see how this fight was going. While both sides had a leader and they were both following orders a few things were clear. The humans were better organized and apparently just as well equipped if out numbered. More importantly though the humans were watching out for one another while the kobolds only seemed interested in watching out for themselves and killing the humans. So while when one kobold tried to strike down a human another human would counter the kobold didn't do the same thing for one another.

    Stella could hear the fight by now and smell the blood as well as the scent of her sister. She was actually surprised whenever she recognized the sent as Maria's. Apparently her young sister had made good use of her speed and beat everyone else to the final find. One thing struck her as odd though. There was clearly a fight going on.

    There was actually a feeling of concern as Stella rushed towards Maria. It didn't seem likely that a few kobolds and humans could pose a threat to her sister. Especially one with a mutation as powerful as Maria's speed. However, she didn't like the ideal of arriving to find one of her sisters dead. With those thoughts in mind Stella didn't even try to use stealth but found herself running as fast as she could.

    As the group neared him the war leader stood his ground. He knew all too well that if he ran or showed weakness the other kobolds would as well. Worse yet if he ran they may turn on him and cast him out of his position. It was an unwillingness to give up its position of authority and the fear of those it led that kept the kobold standing and even pushed it forward. The creature let lose one more cry to charge and this time moved into the battle though flanked by its kobold brethren still.

    With the war leader moving on them Nivon knew that things were going to get interesting. Especially as he noted the creature had drawn a metallic sword. The blade was rather unkempt he could tell that just by looking at it but it was still a superior weapon then what he had. To complicate the situation the kobold was the largest and most likely strongest of the group.

    Instead of coming within striking distance of the human the war leader stopped a few centimeters short and thrust with his long sword. It was made to grin even as Nivon used his short sword to parry the steal long sword. It knew that Nivon couldn't reach him with a short sword and wasn't going to get close enough to get harmed.

    Nivon had hoped that the kobold would come in closer so that he would be able to not just parry but attack. As he deflected the blow though he pushed forward trying to strike at the kobold. The creature wasn't as stupid as Nivon had hoped though and it quickly stepped backwards. While he pushed towards the kobold though he didn't even notice as another figure came onto the seen.

    As Stella made her way into the clearing her gaze immediately turned towards Maria. She'd smelt her sister while she was coming and knew exactly where she was. There was a great wave of relieve upon finding Maria setting in a tree entirely unharmed. However, she didn't know quite what to think whenever she noted the battle going on before her and how Maria wasn't doing anything.

    Maria immediately felt like her plan had been entirely ruined though she didn't blame Stella. It wasn't going well to begin with. In response to Stella's entrance though she called out to her being careful to keep her tone low enough that only one with ears as good as theirs could hear her. “Hi Stella I guess you heard my call.”

    Instead of immediately going to join Maria, Stella held her ground and watched. “Yes, would you mind explaining what's going on?”

    “I was hoping the mage was with them and would reveal himself. However, the kobolds aren't doing a very good job of testing these humans. I thought maybe the kobolds would gain the upper hand and the mage would be forced to reveal his hand to survive.”

    Even with their attention focused on one another neither the kobold war leader or Nivon could keep from noticing Stella after such a length of time. Both sides took several steps back from one another as their gaze turned towards her. Nivon of course had plenty of reason to be worried but so did the kobold. He'd been a survivor of some encounters with the beast women and knew how dangerous they were.

    Despite the situation Nivon couldn't forget the kobold before him. As he looked at the war leader he realized something. The creature was getting ready to call a retreat. Instantly Nivon felt a surge of energy and stepped forward swinging the club he'd picked up from the previous kobold in a full force arc. He felt the club connect solidly with the war leader's head.

    Nivon's actions had caught the war leader off guard. Indeed the creature had been turning to begin fleeing whenever the club had connected. There was no thought on this though as the powerful impact shattered its skull and sent the kobold crumbling to the ground. Moments later a screech went out from the kobolds around them which began to quickly flee.

    “Oh no you don't!” Stella realized what was going on almost immediately. Nivon had taken advantage of the war leader lowering his guard and struck him down. This had thrown the other kobolds into a panic who had only been kept coherent by their leader's presence. As the creatures began to running slashing at anything within range as they moved the escapees began to move clearly wanting to use the distraction to flee.

    Maria felt a great surge of concern as Stella began to move. She fully expected to see nothing but blood and body parts on the ground in seconds. However, as the sound of Stella striking the first human reached her ears and she saw the human fall she realized something. Stella was holding back to avoid killing them though Maria had no doubt the little tap from Stella had downed the human for quite some time.

    All Linerd could do was gasp in pain as he lay on the ground. He wasn't even sure where the attack had come from. One moment he had began to lift his leg to run the next he was on the ground. The ground seemed to have reached him even before the pain did.

    It had been hard for Stella to retract her claws and slow her movements before she hit the escapee. However, this wasn't the time to let her temper get the better of her. Having to spend so much time away from her child and thoughts of extending that time didn't set well with her. “Listen to me very carefully. I have no intention of killing you twelve however if you resist I will most assuredly injure you.”

    In response to Stella's comment Nivon gave a chuckle. “You won't be taking me back alive.” With those words Niven quickly turned and began to run.

    Before the human could take more then two steps Stella quickly moved in front of him. She then gave his stomach an exceptionally gentle touch forcing the air from his lunges and sending him to his knees. “You're quite an arrogant one aren't you? Do you realize how easily I could take away your mobility? I could break your arms and legs to the point that you could do nothing but lay there then carry you back.”

    As Nivon clutched his stomach he tried to take breath. The pain in his stomach wasn't going away nor was his anger though as he realized the truth of what he was told.

    A sigh escaped Maria as she made her presence known and hopped down from her tree. “They're too many of you for us to carry however more of our sisters are on the way now. I called for them while you were having your little fight with the kobolds. None of are you are going to escape. You can all help your case though by telling us something. We've found every escapee now that we've found you. One bit of knowledge escapes us though and that's who amongst you was the mage. If you can provide that information you can insure yourself a much easier time.”

    Instead of responding Nivon once again pushed off the ground. He was still in a great deal of pain as he began to sprint once again. He wasn't surprised whenever he felt another powerful impact and he fell to the ground. Even as he groaned in pain though he reaches forward and began to crawl along.

    Despite what she had said Stella was actually surprised as she watched Nivon crawling along. Part of her still wanted to pull the humans' arms and legs off then leave him to bleed to death but at least he was trying. “Do you realize how pathetic you look crawling along like a worm.”

    “I won't kill myself but, I'm not going to obey you anymore either.”

    In response to this comment Stella reached down and took hold of Nivon. She easily lifted him from the ground despite his weak efforts and began to carrying him under one arm. “Like I said you're not going to escape.” Stella was made to chuckle slightly as she felt Nivon's hands press against her massive arms and begin to push. He was actually trying to force her to let go of him.

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    “Mommy!”

    It was impossible for Stella not to smile as she picked her little boy off the ground. While Allen always felt light in Stella's hands he didn't seem to way anything now as she lifted him from the ground turned him around and planted a kiss on his cheek. “It's good to see you to.”

    “What are you doing back so soon?”

    “Well while I was out I heard Maria calling out and went to check out what was going on. We managed to capture the wrest of the escapes. Isn't that wonderful sweet heart?”

    In response Allen gave a quick nod. “Yeah! Does that mean you'll be able to spend time with me like you use to.”

    For a moment Stella said nothing as she bit down on her lower lip. “I don't know. I'm hoping that they'll be able to ease up on me so I can spend more time with you. However, I may still have to spend a lot of time away.”

    “Oh.”

    “Ah, but you've been having fun with Pera haven't you?” As she spoke Stella took a moment to look over at Pera who was still in a seated position. Apparently she'd interrupted a game between her and Allen.

    “Yeah Pera is lots of fun to be around. I miss you though.”

    “I miss spending time with you as well but. You know this is part of growing up? Eventually you're going to have to spend even more time away from me.”

    “I. I know.”

    “So be strong hearted for me and try to have fun even if we can't see one another as much. Okay?”

    In response Allen gave a nod. His mother had given him a similar talk earlier despite that he was glad to have her back for the moment. “So how many were captured this time?”

    “All twelve of the remaining.”

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    Joseph had been quite surprised when he found himself being shaken awake. Having spent so much of the previous night considering his options he'd ended up setting up later then planned and taking longer to awaken. Now he found himself looking up at Maria's smiling face.

    “Good morning sleepy head.”

    “Maria? Not that I'm unhappy to see you but what are you doing here?”

    “Oh I just thought I would bring you this.” As she spoke Maria placed a small bowl atop Joseph's chest. “That and I wanted to give you some news.”

    Before questioning what was going on Joseph set up and removed the cover of the bowl. What he found inside was a rather thick soup. Apparently for breakfast. “Thanks what is it exactly?”

    “It's good. Try it.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph. He'd seen Maria eat raw meat so he wondered about what she considered good at times. Instead of arguing though he took a spoonful and tried it. “Hm it is pretty good.”

    “I told you. Now you might like to know that all the escapees have been recaptured.”

    “All of them?”

    “Well all the ones that weren't killed.”

    “That's remarkable! Who found the last ones?”

    “You're looking at her. My though you sound happy I thought you might be upset.”

    “That's wonderful Maria why would I be upset though?”

    “You seemed so concerned with those we already captured.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he nodded his head. “Maria I still am concerned. This means I can be certain as to whether or not the mage was amongst the escapees or not though.”

    “Huh? What do you mean if the mage was amongst them?”

    Immediately Joseph felt his pulse quicken as he realized he'd made a slip up. At least it was Maria though. “Maria I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you.”

    “Joseph. It depends on what it is. They're certain things that I can't keep from my sisters.”

    “Maria please. I don't want any of this to get out. So I'm asking. Please tell me you won't tell anyone about this.”

    At first Maria said nothing as she bit down on her lower lip. She liked Joseph and trusted him. He'd been honest with her and her sisters even telling them about something like the life bloom knowing what they might do for that knowledge. He'd worked to help capture the escapees as well. “Okay Joseph. I promise I won't tell any of my sisters or brothers about whatever this is. I'm only making this promise though because I care about you and trust you.”

    “Thank you Maria. Listen Maria, I've been thinking about this for a while. At first we all assumed that it was an alchemical potion that was hiding their scent or a mage. Alchemy was ruled out so it had to be a mage. We then assumed that the mage had ran with the escapees and would be found with them. However, all we found was some scrolls which shouldn't have been too surprising considering the singing crystals they had made. These scrolls contained the spell on them and had been distributed by a soldier from the gale kingdom. At least that's what I've been able to uncover.”

    “Okay. Go on.”

    “Well what was the first escapee you found?”

    For a moment Maria was silent then a look of surprise appeared on her face. “Oh! It was the corpse of a gale soldier.”

    “Exactly. I believe that he was the soldier that handed out the scrolls but I don't believe he was the mage. Rather I believe he was the only one that would have been in contact with the mage.”

    “I see. So they didn't kill him just as a decoy. You believe the mage set it up so that he would be killed to insure no one knew who had mage the scrolls.”

    “Indeed I do. Of course I've also come to believe that the mage isn't with them.”

    “Why would the mage go through all the trouble of helping them set this up if he didn't go with them?”

    “I'm not sure but I can think of a few scenarios. One is the mage did go with them but was killed before you could find them or maybe killed by Stella. However, that doesn't seem very likely to me. It's also possible that Mina's finding their supplies caused some to go while others stayed including the mage. Maybe they weren't willing to take the gamble if they weren't fully prepared.”

    “I see but I also sense another possibility.”

    In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Actually I do. Maybe the mage had something to gain by staying behind. Is there a chance that any of the claimed who didn't try to escape will be promoted to rank one?”

    “Not a chance. Staying where you're suppose to isn't exactly something you get promoted for.”

    “Alright, still maybe they had something to gain. Can you think of anything that might have benefited one of the claimed?”

    “I well. Hm.”

    As Maria went silent Joseph was actually surprised whenever he saw her eyes beginning to widen. Her pupils dilated to allow in more light and he saw her lips curling upward slightly to reveal her teeth. As his gaze turned from her face to her hand he also noted something. Her claws were beginning to extend. “Um Maria is something wrong?”

    “There is one claimed that will benefit from all of this.”

    “What one?”

    “The one Markus picks to give their freedom to.”

    It was hard for Joseph to contain himself as he listened to this. Suddenly he realized why Maria was getting upset. “The mage sets it up so that several of the claimed tried to escape at once after making a deal with Markus. He works to insure that none of you will be able to track them forcing you to rely on a human hunter. Now what hunter do you have easily at hand?”

    “That's what I was thinking to. I.” As Maria opened her mouth it was impossible for her to fully compose herself and she gave a slight growl. “We can't prove this though.”

    “I know it's just a possible scenario. It sure would make sense and it would explain why the mage hasn't been found amongst the claimed.”

    A sigh escaped Maria as she shook her head. “Well Joseph you made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone this and I'll keep my word.”

    “Hold on Maria. I have to ask you this. If I were to tell Flora, Mina and the other keepers about this do you believe they would stop breaking the escapees that were captured?”